National Theater to Roll Out Movie Adaptation of Stage Production 'London Road'

The move builds on relationships forged between the British theater and U.K. exhibitors following the success of its National Theatre Live program.

The National Theatre will roll out the movie adaptation of its own stage production London Road, directed for the screen by Rufus Norris, into U.K. cinemas.

The move builds on relationships forged between the British stage institution and U.K. exhibitors following the success of its National Theatre Live program, which saw handpicked productions that included Danny Boyle's Frankenstein beamed lived into movie houses.

The National Theatre said the film version's rollout will be in 2015, as the BBC-backed movie finished filming last week.

National Theatre director of broadcast and digital, David Sabel, said: "London Road is one of the most remarkable and ground-breaking productions to come out of the National Theatre, and we are thrilled to be working with our partners on its feature film adaptation. Building on our wide network of cinema exhibitors and audiences across the U.K., we see a great opportunity in distributing the film."

Based on real-life events from 2006, when the quiet rural town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women, London Road depicts a community dealing with being at the center of tragedy.

The film stars Olivia Colman and Tom Hardy alongside the entire cast of the critically acclaimed National Theatre production, with a script written by Alecky Blythe.

A Cuba Pictures/National Theatre production, the movie is produced by Dixie Linder and executive produced by Nick Marston, Tally Garner and Sabel.

BBC Films, the BFI Film Fund, Arts Council England and LipSync financed the project.